


All Hell To The King

by suicidejane



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abandonment, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Character Death, Child Abuse, Dysfunctional Family, Fear, Insomnia, Loneliness, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Neglect, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Racism, Supernatural Elements, Team as Family, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unreliable Narrator, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 04:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12904155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suicidejane/pseuds/suicidejane
Summary: His house? Empty. His parents? Gone. Parties? Not one since her. Steve? Alone... kind of.OR the story about what happened right after El closed the gate.





	1. Hotel California

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my take on what happened during that month after El closed the gate. I'm treating these as one-shots with one over-arching plot. Stay with me you might like it.

Steve bolts up, sweat and more sweat drench his bed sheets. He looks around his well-lit room. The shocking change doesn’t make him squint anymore, he prefers the blinding spectacle surrounding him. His sweeps his hair back with a shaky hand. 

  
  
Three on the desk under the window, one in each corner, four in the walk-in closet, a string of them around the headboard, not to mention the overhead. Night lights are for babies and Steve fights real monsters. 

  
  
He sits wincing, he pulls a flashlight from underneath him. Falling back on the bed he closes his eyes still not controlling his breathing. He wipes his face. His other hand dangles over the side of the bed searching for something as if he’s too afraid to look. Steve pulls back gripping a trusty nail ridden bat. He peels the wet sheets from his body and takes to the hallway. 

  
  
Even the hallway lights chase away the shadows like valiant warriors. He shuffles into the bathroom. Red and purple splotches decorate his face worst than the Byer’s walls. That fucking house. He could go his entire life and never set foot there again. He lets his fingers graze his face.

  
  
A week since their one-year reunion that Steve hopes against it becoming an annual thing. A week since he got the shit beat out of him only for Max to save the day. A week since any of them saw Billy Hargrove.    


  
He sighs. His hand reaches for the switch but hesitates. He leaves it, there’s no need to take chances. 

  
  
He thinks back to that night; driving back to the Byer’s house, pulling up at the same time as everyone else, the kids attacking each other in hugs; Max standing off to the side. Steve joining her because he looks at Nancy the same way. Not romantically but from the outside like he doesn’t belong. Him wanting to offer her a ride home but his face screws up at the thought of Billy’s Camaro more than need be. 

  
  
He pads down the stairs thinking back to El starring Max down with Mike at her side. She looks at him, her face still chalky from her impressive fight, he smiles and nods toward Max. That’s all it takes. She crosses the dirt floor and pulls the girl into a hug and from there the kids surround them. 

  
  
The first floor of his home is elegant in its own snooty way. Like his parents want to show that rich people live here. Beautiful pieces of wood, fabric, accents, paintings—creative expressions of his mother’s interior designer without a family photo to show for it. Each room wears an invisible DO NOT ENTER sign that he just needs to destroy but he doesn’t. Not because he can’t but because he wants to see how long he can keep it up if anyone will notice. 

  
  
His father’s office, the living room, dining room, and most other places in his house lack so much life. Dust covering layers of furniture because he hasn’t been inside in months. How can a person live in a place and not at the same time? He can walk his route with his eyes shut: the kitchen, the bathroom, and his bedroom. 

  
  
He stands in front of his refrigerator thinking about the Byer’s kitchen. He can still hear Dustin screaming from inside the house. He gets to him first, Dustin’s on his knees. Steve and the kids wear guilty faces as those who hadn’t been there taking stock. Max nudging him because she notices Billy’s absence before him. Nancy crossing the room grabbing his face, yelling question after question, so Mike explains. Hopper puts out an APB and Jonathan tells Steve to lay on the couch but it’s too late for rest, he’s just come back from hell and is ready for more. Mrs. Byer’s face refuses him, she marches him to the couch after putting her own to bed. She tells the kids to pile into Will’s room and for the others to pick a spot. That’s the most full he remembers a house ever being.    


 

His house? Empty.    


 

His parents? Gone.

 

Parties? Not one since her.

 

Steve? Alone... kind of. He looks above the sink and out the window into the backyard. There hasn’t been water in the pool in over a year, but that didn’t stop her. He hasn’t seen his parents in over a year, since the party... the party she came to just to sit by the pool and disappear, only she didn’t.   


 

There she sits. Her bare feet kick the open air in the same outfit, a year of this shit is killing him. He opens the patio door and walks back inside, she doesn’t need an invitation. His hand grips the bat, his veins protruding out like wires under his skin. 

 

His body--cut into two compelling arguments concerning this ongoing situation. One hand he hates it, the visits, the cold, he misses the summer when she didn’t show up. On the other hand, lonely isn’t the greatest feeling when you’re striking out against demons from hell. She keeps him company.

 

He takes a deep breath and shuts off all the lights, at least the ones on the first floor. He begins opening the windows, every single one on the first floor. The cold air whips through the house owning it. The process doesn’t take long, Steve feels a familiar chill circulate slowly through his being. He can add November to the list of sucky months… 

 

“Hey, Steve.” Her voice is the same as the first time she ever said a word to him. Never his girlfriend but he bets that he knows her better than anyone.

 

“Hey, Barb.” He drops the bat on the floor, he’d get it later. 

 

“Couldn’t sleep huh? Well, your face looks better,” she said a smile playing on her lips. 

 

Their serious stares dissolve into coy smiles. Only as laughter smacks them until they’re drunk with it.  Steve leans into Barb just a bit he composes himself. “Nope, I still look like shit.” 

 

He stays like that for a moment but remembers how cold she is and pulls away. He shudders at the feel of his insides losing heat by proxy. Putting distance between them, making it look casual, Steve didn’t want to hurt her feelings; now that’s a fucking riot.

 

As if she can read his mind she says, “I get it, Steve, it’s okay.” But it isn’t okay and he needs a friend as much as she still needs to be alive.

 

“Did you have a bad dream again?” He did, so he nods. 

 

“What about?”

 

“Nancy told me that I’m bullshit and then a demo dog jumps out to eat me alive. Then everyone forms a fucking circle and watches.” 

 

“You’re so theatrical, even in your sleep. You know she didn’t mean that you killed me, she was the one who invited me to your stupid party. I’ve been meaning to ask when’s the next one?” Steve takes inventory of his home, he walks a good length before answering. 

 

“Won’t be one.” Steve’s confession drops him onto a nearby sofa his mother would cuss him stupid for sitting on. 

 

“That’s okay, we can have our own parties.” Her words comfort Steve even though they shouldn’t. It’s been a nonstop party and with winter coming, they’re sure to have some ragers. “We should play hide and seek again.” 

 

Steve shakes his head even though there’s a childlike gleam in his eyes. “You cheat, no thanks.” 

 

“That was once, I promise this time to take the stairs and I won’t go through the walls.” Barb nudges him with her shoulder, it doesn’t take long. Steve nods giddily with excitement. 

 

“Stay on downstairs, I didn’t turn the lights off up there. You hide and I’ll count,” he says as he presses his forehead to hers. She giggles but takes off all the same. He watches her until she melds too far into the shadows to find. “Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… ready or not here I come.”

 

He waits a moment but gets up all the same and charges through the darkness looking for Barb. In closets and cabinets, he searches but no dice. He starts to give up when he remembers the basement is always dark and the door’s open. He shakes his head at her poor sportsmanship. “The basement isn’t on this floor Barb, you know that.” 

 

He starts to descend when the bell rings. The foreign sound stops him cold, he can’t remember the last time the bell rang. He trips going up the next few stairs but he’s at the front door in no time. He doesn’t check to see who it is; it’s three the morning.  He pulls it open, on the other side is the one and only Billy Hargrove. 

 

This revelation isn’t something he would imagine on a day to day basis. Billy on his front step, a full week after disappearing? There he stands, much like Barb in the same outfit, but wearing near the seams and filthy. He didn’t look like himself like he’s living in the woods or something. 

 

“Jesus Christ Hargrove?” Billy pushing his way in and Steve doesn’t bother to shrink from contact but he makes sure to bow his head so it isn’t seen as an act of aggression. Billy is a degenerate through and through but at the very least when he’s among civilization he fakes it. Feral Billy--a forest surviving wild man; Steve didn’t want to bet on his rationale at this point. 

 

“Nice digs. How can you fucking see down here, your second floor looks like a lighthouse from a mile away. Fucking cold in here, turn the heat on.” Steve doesn’t answer him. He stands there with the door still wide open watching Billy take liberties with his house, turning on lights and shit. 

 

Steve follows Billy to the kitchen. He watches the other teen pull open the fridge before slamming it. Billy nabs an apple from a nearby fruit bowl. 

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Came to grab a bite princess, you don’t mind do you?”

 

Steve looks at Billy like there’s two head on his shoulders. “Where the fuck have you been man? Your parents are worried as hell, Hopper put out an APB!”

 

“Blow Neil, he’s shit… and Susan can bite me, she’s sure as shit ain’t my mother, hell I don’t know what kind of a mother she is. I ain’t going back to that house.” Billy’s tone is tight and unforgiving. He makes his way forward until he’s Steve wants to dive behind the couch to avoid the hard stare coming his way. 

  
“Come on Billy, it can’t be that bad.” 

 

That does it. Those few words whose only intent is cause for healing does the exact opposite. Billy chucks the remainder of the apple at the wall. Steve scans the floor for his bat only to realize it’s closer to billy than it is him. So he watches the spectacle, Billy pacing the room: his feet on a slow kind of autopilot while his hands swing-clap in a sort of manic rage. He doesn’t bother wearing a mask this time. 

 

“Fuck you, Harrington! What about your perfect little life gives you the right to think you know anything about me, huh? I really want to know. Come on lay it on me because you have no fucking clue. Nowhere in your small brain can you compute all the shit I’ve been through. Go home Billy your parents love you, Harrington you have no fucking idea. He kicks the living shit out me!” Steve flinching at the sheer amount of anguish flowing from Billy, it’s like a broken fire hydrant.

 

“Billy--

 

“No! You don’t know how scared I am to go to sleep, how I don’t know if he’s gonna come in my room and do it all over again! ‘Shut up you fucking pussy! Take it! Take it!’ Every fucking time man. ‘Faggot, you crying faggot!’ What the fuck man!” Billy barely makes sense at this point, tears and snot coat his face. “Then we gotta move to this fucking town, this small ass town. There’s nothing here and I gotta start all over! It doesn’t stop! No one stops it, I can’t make him stop. She doesn’t make him stop.”

 

Steve can feel tears prick his own eyes, his heart sinking into his stomach. 

 

“They come in and they take what they want… they’re always taking shit. I’m so tired of people taking from me…” Billy’s voice fades out, the boy sways on his feet. Steve hears something in that, that makes him tick and he doesn’t like it. He can’t let Billy get off scotch-free. 

 

“So what about you taking shit? What about the pain you cause?”

 

“They were fucking love taps, I thought King Steve could handle it.” A familiar venom seeps into Billy’s voice. 

 

“I’m not talking about me! Your sister, Lucas--

 

“Who gives a fuck about that kid? About that ni--

 

“DON’T!” Steve’s his own sickness rise to the top, his own darkness ready to spew across the room. “Don’t fucking use that word, I will throttle you.” 

 

“Fuck you! I expect that little bitch not to know shit but you? You should know better Harrington.”   
  


“What the fuck has Lucas Sinclair ever done to you man? He’s a fucking kid!” Billy looks at him as if he’s trying to contain the answer not mull it over. The words sit at the tip of his tongue. At this point, Billy rocks back and forth; Steve can feel his anger simmer at the sight of the other boy who looks like a small child at this point. 

 

“They take things too. He took her, she’s gone.” His voice is quiet and Steve has to strain to hear it. 

 

“Max? Lucas took Max?”

 

“No! He took my mom away from me man!” Billy shouts before cupping his hands over his mouth like he’s protecting a secret. Steve didn’t open his mouth to question Billy, he’d gotten this far. “She left with him, he took her. He’s was her friend, I thought he was her friend. We promised to look out for each other, but she leaves, she didn’t take me. I got home-- her stuff-- I didn’t understand he beat me for it. They didn’t take me with them, she was supposed to take me with them!”

 

Steve watches Billy crash to his knees. He wants to go over. He needs to show him that not everyone takes things. Instead, he settles for an obvious non-rhetorical question. “He was black.”

 

“I remembered the way she used to look at him-- she never looked at me. I was her son, he made her leave her son. Max and that fucking kid, they look at each other like that you know.” 

 

“You think Max is gonna leave? What would happen if Max leaves?”

 

“He’ll kill me,” Billy’s voice is small and full of defeat. 

 

“Yeah, on a bicycle and skateboard, they’re really going places.” Steve stands with his hands on hips. “Your life isn’t a cakewalk and I’m sorry for all the heinous shit but don’t take it out on others. SHE left, SHE made that choice, no one made it for her. Yeah, she ran off with some guys. That makes her a shit mom, not the other guy. Not every black guy is like that just like every pissed off white guy isn't your dad. Okay? ” 

 

“Why didn’t she love me?” Steve doesn’t have words for that. The air holds his lungs hostage as he closes the space between them. 

 

Hawkins has a way of breaking people down to their bare bones and Billy Hargrove is no exception. Steve wraps one arm and then another around Billy’s shoulders. He feels the rise and fall of the bigger boy as he breathes. Steve gets as close as he can, almost cradling him in his lap. He leans down to hush away the cries when Billy erupts from under him. The top of Billy’s head slams into Steve’s already hurt face. 

 

“Don’t touch me! I’m not some fucking faggot!”

 

Steve sits there in shock, blood trickling down his lip. He stares at Billy, they both climb to their feet at the same time. 

 

“You don’t have to worry about anyone leaving you, not before you push them away first. Don’t be your dad man, just don’t…” Billy delivers the most incredulous look Steve has ever seen making him almost want to take it back but he doesn’t; he stands his ground. A shocking calm sweeps over Billy’s face as he inspects Steve. 

 

“Gimme my keys.”  

 

“What?”

 

“My car isn’t at my house, or the Byer’s so… give… me… my… keys.” His voice is hard and commanding. 

 

Steve doesn’t see a point in arguing with him. The situation is too damning to come back from in one night. Without a word he walks around Billy knowing the other will follow. He leads them to the garage. Inside are his parent's cars, and Billy’s and near the door on a rack are the keys. Billy snatches them, gripping them in his hands. He takes stock in his car before turning to Steve. 

 

“What the fuck did you do to my car?” In front of them, both sits what looks like is a brand new car. 

 

“I-- I-- I just wanted to--

 

“Don’t you ever in your life touch my car, Harrington. This is all I got left. I don’t give a shit about your intention.” Billy’s finger jams the garage door opener and the door ascends to the ceiling. 

 

Steve watches him get in and rev the engine, he shoots Steve another hateful look at the sound of it. It sounds leagues better than it ever has. He backs out the driveway and the car slowly disappears from sight. Steve stands there with a bloody lip for too long after before finally turning back inside. 

 

Walking back from his father’s study, he holds an expensive bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet. He twists off the top and takes a massive swig. It burns his lip but Steve doesn’t mind. He stands on the patio looking out the window. Barb waits for him in her usual spot. 

 

He opens the door and she waves her hands up in excitement. “You found me!” He snorts out a laugh and drags himself out to sit with her, at the edge of it all. 

 

She takes the bottle from him and holds it to her lips. Steve smiles fondly gazing down at an eerie black puddle forming at the bottom. “Cheers...” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how I resolve my feelings about Billy's implied racism. Sorry if it felt rushed but each chapter needs to feel like a completed story almost.
> 
> I'm a whore for comments.


	2. Edge of Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something weird happens... well a few things. Steve spends some quality time with Billy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suspend disbelief I'll do a bonus one-shot when all this is over from Billy's perspective. I promise.

 

_Steve arches his back into the source of his current pleasure. Behind him, soft grunting and soft strokes compliment the firm thrusting. The bigger body fits around him like a vice. Whining noises desert his body each time narrow hips meet his own. Hushing sounds can’t placate him. His fingers and hands grip onto the limbs encasing him, trapping him in this seductive destruction._

 

_He feels the body shift. Their member still pulsating inside him as his wet back hits an equally damp mattress. His hands hook around the man’s neck pulling the body closer. He raises this hips to help get a better reach. One thrust, in particular, has open mouth silent crying. The ones that follow after do him no justice. He can only hang on for the ride._

 

_Steve slumps over on the chest of the man impaling him. He hoists Steve, bringing him to the tip before slamming him back down. Over and over wild thrust rob him of more and more of his self-control. Heavy breathing beat against his parting lips. A hand tugs his chin as desperate lips meet his own._

 

_The kiss is forceful and demanding and Steve is fighting a losing battle. The man owns him in that kiss, shedding him, tearing him apart only to renew him once more. This metamorphosis happens time after next and Steve welcomes it with twisting hips and pitchy whimpers._

 

_His eyelids peel back rewarding him with the sight of the man giving every bit of himself. He smiles at his gift, his beautiful blue-eyed boy._

 

_“Billy, please…” Steve whispers feeling the man’s mouth against his ear. “I got you, princess, just hold on.”_

 

* * *

 

Steve jolts awake. He looks around in a panic, he’s back in his room but he doesn’t remember leaving poolside. He and Barb watch the sun come up leaving him alone. From there he finishes his father’s bottle but after that, he hasn’t a clue. He smacks a hand over his face. It isn’t healthy to have sex dreams about a person whose violent toward him.

 

Looking over at his clock, he sees it’s after the third period. He’s sure there’s a message from the school on his answering machine. “ _To the parents of (We Don’t Clearly Give a Shit), your son has now missed fourteen days…_ ”

 

Steve just cannot bring himself to give a fuck. He knows that he should, that he needs to get up but if that was the only way to keep the world from forgetting him, then so be it. He lays there a few more moments before taking leave. He smells like a bar and he knows none of his teachers will appreciate that.

 

* * *

 

Steve pulls into the almost full parking lot. He checks around the back and front seats to make sure there’s nothing forgotten. He’s always finding things in his car, the kids constantly marking their territory. Today he’s all clear.

 

He gets out and his eyes scan his surroundings. He thinks back to his dream, feeling and seeing Billy. The warmth still fanning from his core even now that he’s wide awake. He bites his lip in defeat until his eyes land on a black acid wash tee and tight blue jeans. Billy’s stare doesn’t leave him.

 

Steve squints a bit but instead of settling for the school he lets the energy flowing through him pull him toward Billy.

 

Steve didn’t know when all this began. For as long as he could care to think about it, Nancy is the endgame. She was the literal Nancy to his Ronald. His parents, when they did live with him, would go on and on about her. In a town like that, Nancy Wheeler is a first class girl but Steve isn’t so sure that’s for him. From the moment he first saw Billy his stomach won’t quit turning, flipping and flopping. Maybe he could sense danger or just wants it for himself.

 

He gets within a few feet before Billy takes another drag out of his cigarette. Billy’s eye scan over Steve who rests comfortably under his gaze. Billy holds out his cigarette and it’s been awhile but if this is as close as Steve can get to Billy’s lips, he’ll take it. He takes a long drag, his eyes never leaving Billy.

 

Steve knows he looks like shit. He has the dark circles under his eyes and all that jazz. "You look like shit Harrington."

 

"Thanks Billy. You not going inside?"

 

“As I broke into the school for a morning shower, I started thinking, you’re an enigma Harrington, an enigma wrapped in a burrito made of solid gold. I can’t figure you out. One minute I want to beat that pretty little face in again and then the next I’m having wet dreams about it.” Steve watches Billy in shock.

 

“Uh… okay. Look, to be honest with you, I don’t know what to unpack here. That’s a lot. Do you even remember last night?” It’s a lot because he agrees with the latter, he’s having dreams himself.

 

“Yeah. That ain’t all I remember.”

 

Steve can feel Billy’s eyes working their way up and down his frame, over and over. He doesn’t know what to say to that and is thankful he doesn’t have to. Billy gestures toward the passenger door of his car before getting in himself. “Come on princess, your chariot awaits.”

 

Steve looks at the school molding over the idea but decides that he’s already absent; he can figure something out later. He gets in and the tires screech as Billy tears out the parking lot before he can get the door shut.

 

Fifteen minutes and a hell of a lot of turns later, they pull up to the quarry. Steve frowns at their location. Did Billy bring him here to kill him?

 

Billy shuts off the ignition and gets out the car. They have yet to speak since telling him to get in, no need to change things now. He walks to the edge of the water. He looks back at Steve, nodding for him to follow.

 

Steve gets out but stumbles to a stop. Billy kicks off his boots and begins stripping out of his clothes. Clad in only boxer briefs Steve takes a shaky breath as he examines the nude man. He finally makes it up to Billy’s face when he sees the boy staring back at him.

 

“I know, it’s impressive but you can scope me out later. We can’t stay in the water long. Hurry up.”

 

“We not getting in the water, Hargrove. It’s fucking November!” Shaking out of his lustful haze Steve catches up with Billy all the while undressing.

 

“Says the man in tighty whities. You see that over there?” Billy points to across the water where the quarry wall opens and water seeps underneath. Steve nods but shivers as a gust of wind blows around them.

 

“Holy shit, I’ve lived here my entire life. I know every inch of this place. How did you find this?” Almost naked they stand at the edge with their toes kissing the still waters beneath them.

 

“Stick with me Harrington and you’ll learn something new every day. Try to keep up, it’s about a minute swim; think you can handle that?” Billy jumps in the water before Steve answers. Not even mentioning the fact that his mind is still on the prospect of spending every day with Billy Hargrove.

 

He realizes Billy’s already halfway before he jumps in. As the cold water shocks his body he thinks to himself about the darkness of the water. The piercing cold, chilling him to the bone as his arms cut through the water. He follows Billy who dives under the water, into the pitch black. Taking a deep breath Steve does the same. The light doesn’t last long the deeper he dives. When he gets to the cave opening he pauses. Like a hand, the murky black reaches out making it hard to see. Steve feels panic arise at what looks to be flakes or ashes floating by him. His body jerks, he feels the world around him change shape. The air in his lungs quickly evacuates and Steve chokes. Suddenly a strong hand grabs his bicep while the other snakes around his waist--Billy.

 

Billy pulls him into the cave opening and for now, gets them out of the water. Steve feels Billy jack him up, practically carrying him to what feels like a rocky shore. Still shivering and coughing up water, Steve curls up into a ball as he frantically looks for light. “Billy the light! Billy, I can’t see, where’s the light!” Steve cringes at the sound of his own desperation.

 

He can hear hasty footsteps shifting rocks around him. Little by little the darkness is cast out by candles. Flicker after flicker a new space in the small cave fills with light. Steve’s shaking decreases but the tightness in his limbs won’t go away. He manages to lift his head. “In through your nose and out through your mouth dipshit.”

 

Around him a shit load of candles, a dingy couch, a blanket acting as a carpet and coffee table. A makeshift living room in the wall of a cliff. His eyes finally find Billy who tosses him a questionable quilt, he’s no longer hacking, that’s good sign. “What is this place?”

 

Billy shrugs. “Who the fuck knows, found this one night. No one comes around so I claimed it. Welcome to Casa de la Billy.”

 

Steve doesn’t know what to say to that. That doesn’t surprise him, Hargrove is always leaving him speechless. He looks down at the blanket and decides it’s better than nothing. He wraps it around his shoulders and realizes how familiar it smells--cigarettes and oaky cologne.

 

“Have you been sleeping here?” Billy shrugs careful not to knock off the blanket around his own shoulders.

 

“I started coming here when home got to be too much. My dad’s a dick to me but for the most part, he’ll leave Max and Susan alone.”

 

“So you hold out here and then go back when the coast is clear?” Billy nods. Steve makes out a rather large cooler in the corner, he hopes it’s Billy’s and not some hitchhikers. There could very well be a dead body in there.

 

“All in due time,” Billy says watching Steve watch the cooler. Steve fixes the blanket tighter around him and drags himself to the couch. He falls next to Billy close enough to feel warmth but enough not to touch.

 

They sit for a while, neither saying a word. Steve’s eyes dart around to all the dark spots in the room. He doesn’t want her to show up here or worse let this be a secret passageway to the Upside Down. The panic sets in again until he feels Billy’s hand push him back. He goes with it feeling his back meet a hard chest. Two arms encase him. His eyes burn, his vision clouds, choking sounds escape him.

 

“Shh… don’t cry, it’s okay… shh.” Billy’s voice quieter than his cries. Steve has to force himself to listen.

 

Never in a million years did Steve ever think he would be in the arms of Billy Hargrove if he wasn’t choking him to death. In this strange world, Billy holds him and hushes the fear tearing through him. It doesn’t happen right away but eventually, Steve does calm down; Billy doesn’t let go.

 

“Why are you doing this? Last time we got this close you practically called me a faggot.” Billy doesn’t respond right away, Steve banks on the fact that Billy may tell him the truth.

 

“I know what it’s like Harington, it happens to me sometimes. Contrary to popular belief I’m not as big of a dick as you think I am.” Steve stifles a laugh as something presses against his lower back contradicting his words. This is not the time nor the place for that. Steve puts it all into perspective. They’re just two naked guys under some blankets, laying one on top of the other. There is nothing remotely sexual about it, and Steve shames himself for thinking otherwise.

 

Steve changes the subject. “I saw what’s in your trunk. Are you running away?”

 

“No one in this town looks like they mind their business. For your information, no I am not.”

 

“Why don’t you just leave?”

 

“Why did you freak out?” Steve fidgets under Billy’s hold trying to find an answer.

 

“I’m not a good swimmer.” Steve can feel Billy’s leg bouncing underneath him. He doesn’t know what the other boy has to be anxious about.

 

“You’re not a good bullshitter either. Aren’t you wondering where your little friend is? The one that was shoved in the Byer’s fridge.” Steve pulls away turning to Billy whose face is stone serious.

 

“I don’t know what--

 

Billy growls at the beginnings of the lie, Steve stops as he stalks toward the cooler. He’s dragging it but it doesn’t look easy. Steve pulls his legs up until his entire body is on the couch.

 

Billy kicks open the cooler and the smell attacks the room first; Steve heaves and his eyes water. Billy just stands there taking it all in. For good measure, he tilts the cooler for Steve to see black slim at the bottom. A rotting demo-dog in the middle of it.

 

“Close it! Come on man, please!” Billy doesn’t give in even kicks it closer to Steve. “Alright, alright man fuck! I’ll tell you! Fucking close it!”

 

That’s enough for Billy. He seals it shut before dragging it back to a corner. Billy stands, tension riding his body worse than the night everything came to a head. Steve watches Billy’s face as he recounts chasing after Jonathan and Nancy and beating the first monster with his deadly bat to going to the Upside Down to help the others close the gate. He tells him of El’s power, of government testing and Will’s possession. He doesn’t mention Barb.

 

“Fuck…” Billy drops down on the couch. Steve licks his dry lips with all the talking he’s doing. Steve watches Billy stare off into the distance, he doesn’t like that look on Billy any more than on himself.

 

“Why do I get the feeling you believe me?” Steve's voice shakes a little at the end. Billy turns toward Steve, raising his arm.  Steve covers his mouth in horror. Homemade stitches close a gash running the length of his armpit. Steve inspects closer, fearing the discoloration could spell out possible infection.

 

“Christ! I need to get you to a doctor this looks sick.”

  
Billy shrugs and snorts. “I’ve had worse. It’s fine. I know my body. I know how much I can take.” Billy lowers his arm away from view. Steve feels sick at the implication of Billy’s words. “Whatever that thing was, it isn’t alone. If that kid is as badass as you say we need her.”

 

“How many of them were there? Fuck this is bad.” The words fly from Steve’s mouth faster than his body. He flings the blanket off before storming back toward the water. “I gotta call Hopper. I have to send an S.O.S. We need to get back to the school. I need my bat!”

 

Billy dissolves into a mocking kind of laughter. “You’re gonna need more than a fucking bat princess.” Billy stands and walks over to another blanket on the floor. When he lifts it, there’s an audible gasp. Steve takes a moment, really soaking in the last twelve hours.

 

“Grab the cooler, make sure it’s locked.” He points to the floor where Billy stands. “Grab that too. We’re taking it with us.” This time he jumps into the water without another thought.

 

* * *

 

 

Steve’s tires tear down the dirt road until he turns down a driveway. He stops next to Jonathan’s car but just behind Hopper’s truck. A line of bicycles rests haphazardly in the yard. The Byers house, a collection of scraps and leftovers, a place Steve has to take a deep breath before pursuing. He’s always almost dying here.

 

Inside everyone gathers nervously in the living room, impatiently awaiting his arrival. They practically jump him upon entry. Hopper pushes through them all to make himself first.

 

“What gives kid? You put out the S.O.S and here we are. I hope you all know the police walkie-talkies aren’t toys.”

 

“We’ve got a problem.”

 

“No shit!” Dustin’s smart mouth fires off right after like clockwork.

 

“We got dogs… well, one dog… a big fucking dog.”

 

“Steve, you’re not making any sense.” Nancy’s voice is strong but the fear is present. Before Steve can say another word the door kicks open and much like that night, Billy strolls in dragging the cooler behind him.

 

Lucas visibly flinches but tries to appear tough nonetheless. Mike and Dustin form a human shield around him. Will wraps a hand around Lucas’ arm and Max stands in front of them all wanting to be the first to face her brother. Even though she looks ready for anything, there is a slither of relief in her eyes. El aka Jane remains on the couch but she tracks Billy like a predator does its prey. No one in the room welcomes his presence but Billy doesn’t notice nor care.

 

“Wow, this place is still a shithole.”

 

“What the hell is he doing here Steve?” Mike’s voice carries nothing but contempt.

 

“He’s here to help us, apparently not all our friends made it back to the gate.”

 

“According to who?” Hopper’s question resonates around the room.

 

“Show em, Billy.” Much like before when he cracks open the cooler the room fills with the smell. El is the only one who can contain her disgust.

 

“That’s rancid. Like a hundred dead bodies, Jesus!” Billy ignores them, large and long, he pulls out the decaying skin. He walks the distance to the kitchen; a series of curse words fill the room.

 

“Whatever this is came from that place and is stuck here running loose in the woods... It’s adapting and mutating... This isn’t a fucking demo-dog… this is Beowulf.”

 

The room is silent aside from some frantic breathing and whimpers. Hopper steps forward examining the extensive tissue then looking at the cooler. His hand on his firearm.

 

He turns toward Steve. “Of course a missing kid turns up in this group. I can’t believe I’m saying this. He’s your responsibility. He hurts one of these kids it’s on you.”

 

He turns to Billy, “are you in?” Billy smiles. Hopper turns to the others. “Midnight, we’re going after this thing.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the hardest but it's the one I'm most excited about. Bare with me. What did you guys think?


	3. Gimme Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team assembles again but it doesn't run all that smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, I'm the shittiest narrator ever! I switch POV's like Beyonce does cute outfits. I'm sorry lol. Overall, I've never written an action scene and this entire chapter was a risk... Let me know if it paid off.
> 
> One more thing...
> 
> I need for us to play a game called, "Let's Suspend Disbelief". That's where I go off the deep end and you guys follow me... okay? Great!

It’s nightfall and Steve can feel the electricity in the air. Even though Hopper said they would meet back at midnight none of them did... leave that is. After Mrs. Byers force them to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup they decide that scavenging for weapons is a good way to work out their nervous energy. If someone didn’t know any better they would think this an act of war, or in preparation for one. Steve stands at a workbench sharpening the nails coming out of his bat. He looks up a Billy, scoffs because the object of his attention didn't even give a damn. 

 

Billy stares over at Max and Lucas as they manufacture weapons out of the scrap metal in the Byer’s miniature junkyard. Lucas says something funny and the entire group of kids laugh. Billy watches Max lean in a little too close. His fingers curl into a fist as he tries to choke down the panic. A throat clears behind him.

 

He whips around to find Nancy Wheeler. He fights the urge to roll his eyes. He returns to scoping the scene with his back to Nancy. She doesn’t let him get away that easy. He feels a small hand turn him around. He tries to not let it shock him. Of course, a girl just bigger than his sister would have some muscle especially if she's gotten this far with these things. 

 

“Hargrove, we need to talk.” Billy snatches his arm out of her hold.

 

“Queenie, aren’t you and the weirdo missing precious fondling time?”

 

“You’re disgusting…”

 

“You’re a bitch, now get out of my face. Don’t ever touch me again. You wheeler women and your hands.”

 

“Do you get off on being a dick?”  Billy turns to face her, a cunning smirk on his lips.

 

“Wanna watch me get off, is that it? Like mother, like daughter.” Nancy grunts, shaking her head. She takes several deep breaths. He watches her hands shake. She shoves them into her pockets. Billy takes a step back just in case she explodes.

 

“I didn’t come over here to start an argument with you. I know what you did that night. I know what you did to Lucas--

 

“Queenie if you’re coming over here to threaten me about Sinclair then--

 

He stops talking and it's not because he can’t find the words. Something sharp flirts with his side. In Nancy’s hand, poking him is a sharp three-inch blade. Her hand tight around the handle, her poker face is noteworthy.

 

“I may not be the best sister but care a lot about these kids. I was a shit girlfriend at the end but I love Steve. You don’t get to come in and hurt them… any of them. I don’t know what your problem is with Lucas but if anything happens to him and you let it, I’ll return the favor.” Billy meets her stare head-on, where he thinks he’ll see apprehension all he can recognize is maddening calm. Nancy takes his silence as compliance. She retracts the knife.

 

Billy releases a shaky breath, the blade’s breathe caresses his side. He checks for blood, he’s clean. Their eyes meet again. Her voice low enough for him to hear. “Steve stares at you like... I don’t know. It’s the only reason you’re still standing after what you did to his face. I’ve seen the way you look at him too… try to play nice, use your lips instead of your fist."

 

Billy lays the tough guy act on thick but Nancy only smirks. “I know you’ve never made it with the girls at school, even though you’ve had every opportunity. People talk Hargrove.”

 

“And what are you adding to the conversation Wheeler?”

 

She giggles. “Relax, I don’t give a shit about who you’re fucking... or not for that matter. I do know in a town like this, most of the people aren’t worth the time of day. And I think the person's attention that you want, you already have.” With that Nancy’s gone, weaving herself back into the mix with the kids smiling like the world’s just right with her. A smile teases his lips. Billy has a whole new level of respect for a girl he never gave a fuck about.

 

A firm hand claps him on the shoulder. It feels like Neil, he doesn’t have it in him to pull away. He must be showing his cards because Hopper says, “it’s okay kid, the party hasn’t started yet.”

 

Hopper lets go and Billy’s shoulders drop in response. He takes several deep breaths, Hopper’s eyes don’t leave him for a second. “Is everything alright?”

 

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Billy fishes for the cigarette behind his ear. He lights it but Hopper relieves him seconds later. Billy watches in shock.

 

“These things’ll kill ya.” Hopper takes a veteran level drag from the white stick. Billy watches, not having the backbone to stop him. Hopper takes another step into his space blowing out the smoke through his nose.

 

In quiet observation, Hopper’s eyes study Billy from his head to his feet. A pitiful look takes over his face. Billy wants nothing more than for this man to kick his ass. He’d do anything not to feel this small. “Don’t worry kid, I hated pity too. Before the night is over, I’m gonna give you my home number, if you need anything, anything at all. Just act like you’re ordering a pizza.”

 

Billy tries for contempt, rage, and then nonchalance but he doesn’t wear any of the looks well. Hopper doesn’t wait around. He’s done with the cigarette without offering it back. Billy wants to kick himself for caving, he needs to find his bravery if he intends to last the night.

 

Hopper scans the yard then back at Billy. “Where’s your weapon?”

 

Billy looks around him then at his own hands. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a matching set of brass knuckles. He allows the heavy metal ground him, guide him, give him courage. He displays the pieces, Hopper releases a low whistle. “Don’t let me catch you using that on anyone else but one those dogs.”

 

“It’s demo-dogs!” Dustin yells the correction as he walks by with a box full of sharp objects.

 

Hopper finds a new target as he chases after Dustin who unlike Billy shows no intimidation toward the chief’s size.

 

Billy goes back to people watching not realizing Steve’s missing until it’s too late.

 

* * *

 

 

From the Byers’ house to the junkyard, Steve can only pray that his improvisational skills pay off. He pulls into his driveway and races inside the house. He stops because he remembers leaving the lights on. He takes a deep breath and watches the puff of air show itself; it’s freezing.

 

He thinks about the wild demo-dog: mutating in the woods behind his house, climbing over the metal fence and tearing him to shreds. Steve doesn’t imagine the dogs cleaning a carcass. What gets him about the monsters is that they can tear you apart, maybe take a bit or two but just leave the rest. He thinks of himself spread about the living room and kitchen, ruining his mother’s furniture; he smiles at the idea.

 

The idea that his brutal ending would cause some sort of disruption gives his steps more purpose. He finds himself driving forward.

 

“Barb?” Nothing…

 

Steve ventures further into the house. He tries to keep his wits about him, walking with some sort of confidence. He rounds another corner--

 

“Boo…” Regardless of effort, she manages to scare the shit out of him. Barb’s laughing her ass off while Steve clutches his knees taking painful breaths.

 

“Wow. I didn’t think you’d jump that high.”

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Barb flinches at his tone but Steve doesn’t have time to let the guilt weigh him down. He continues to the garage.

 

“Steve, talk to me, what’s going on?” Once inside he fetches a cardboard box from under the counter. Bottles of clear liquid. He tosses in some dirty rags from a top shelf.

 

“Demo-dogs… we got fucking demo-dogs.” Barb freezes by the door. Her expression is as if she’s staring at a ghost.

 

“But-- I-- you told me El closed the gate. How can this be if El closed the gate?” Steve shrugs. He scaffolds through the tools hanging on the wall. Steve rips some down a pair of hedge clippers, a weed wacker, flammable spray canisters, etc.

 

“I don’t know but we’re gonna kill the fucking thing before it wises up and makes it way to town.”

 

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Steve stop his haul and turns to look at her. Barb’s face is a sheet paler than usual. Her hands clutch the tails of her heavy blue coat. Steve hates that color blue but he can stand it on Barb. Before he knows it, he’s crossing the room to get to her. He cups her face in his hands. Barb leans into him, and he welcomes her.

 

“Hey, hey I’m gonna be okay. Don’t worry about me.”

 

“Steve…”

 

“If I could, I would take you with me, then I’d have nothing to worry about.”

 

Barb’s distress decreases by the second. She’s looking at Steve and it’s clear that the wheels are turning. “Are you okay?”

 

“Steve! You’re a genius!” She throws her whole body on him and he grunts at the impact. Barb pulls back she watches his face, she looks like she wants to try something. "I want to try something okay?" Barb goes back in for a hug, her face lacks emotion; it's like she's concentrating. He needs to get out more. This can’t be healthy, hugging his ex-girlfriend’s dead best friend.

 

“I don’t get it…” He tries to pull away but Barb keeps hugging him. This is new to them. Most nights they stay up talking shit and chase each other from one room to the next but they don’t hug, at least not for this long.

 

“You’re so warm.” The cold moves like a slow creep through his veins. The warmth vacating his body to make room. Barb is like an ice blanket. It feels like the dead of winter and he’s without a coat. By the time she realizes it, Steve’s barely conscious.

 

He’s on the ground with her kneeling next to him. His breathing is shallow as he tries to focus his vision. Everything is scarily blurry.

 

“Maybe I can’t come with you…”

 

“Probably not…” His own response his course and uneven.

 

Barb’s head swings toward the driveway. “Your friend’s here. I’ll let him in. He can help you.” Steve wants to tell her that it won't work. Dead girls can’t open doors but seconds later he hears the garage door. Bright headlights blind him. He reaches for Barb but comes up short. He hears a different yet familiar voice call out to him. Relief floods him.

 

“Harrington, I thought my ole girl had some get up before, but you should see her go now. Made it in record time.” Billy says laughing his way up the driveway. Steve doesn’t hear anymore laughing just frantic footsteps racing up the driveway.

 

“STEVE!” His head is still ringing but it mellows at the feel of Billy propping him up against his chest.

 

“You’re fucking freezing man! What the fuck? Talk to me… I can't feel-- if you’re fucking dying I will kill... Please get up.  I can’t do this again.” Steve wants to cringe at the franticness in his voice.

 

Steve doesn’t see himself from Billy’s perspective but if he did he would understand the reaction. Steve’s skin is a weird shade of sick, uncontrollable trembles rattle his limbs. His eyes are just… gone.

 

“Who... let... you… in?” Steve can’t trust the shakiness coming through in his own voice.

 

“Harrington, you scared the shit out me.” Billy’s words are not without a tighter hug, Steve hates that he’s grateful for it.

 

“Why is the door open?” Steve’s voice is strong this time around. He tries to stand but Billy won’t let him.

 

“Hold on. Just sit for a minute. Is someone in the house? Did they hurt you?” Steve can see clearly now. Billy is ready to go guns blazing through the house. Steve thinks quick.

 

“Rich coming from the guy who almost beat me to death a week ago." Billy's not biting. Steve rolls his eyes. "I threw up, I guess the tomato soup didn’t sit well with me. I must of hit it by accident.” Steve pulls away and climbs his way back to his feet. He tries to walk but only ends up pitching forward but Billy catching him.

 

“Fucking idiot, come on,” Billy says. He drags Steve into the house and immediately notices the drop in temperature.

 

“It’s colder than hell in here. I thought you were rich Harrington; where’s the heat?”

 

Steve’s too busy trying to spot Barb. He makes eyes at the pool, nothing.  Next thing he knows, Billy dumps him into a chair. “Who the fuck is Barb?”

 

Like a bucket of cold water washing over him, Steve looks at Billy like he’s never put eyes on him before. He clears his throat. “Barbara… Barb for short. My mom’s name is Barb. She doesn’t like the heat on.”

 

He turns to meet Billy's eyes. Kindness, empathy, and fondness are all there. Steve feels like shit for lying. He flicks on a light and takes a good look at Steve. Shaking his head, Billy tracks his dirty shoes onto his mother’s priceless carpet and fetches a heavy fur blanket from the couch and drapes it around Steve. They sit there for some time and wait for Steve to warm up. Steve feels something pulsing through his veins. It makes him sick that Billy's the one to get under his skin. The guy almost kills him then shows up at his house and explodes in truth. From there continues on a crash course with destiny. Here is Steve, a stagnant, irrelevant sack of lying shit; yet Billy's willing to clean him up whether he knows it or not. 

 

"Don't make a habit out of saving the day Hargrove someone may mistake you for a good guy."

 

"We don't want that do we?"

 

"Nope." They return to silence at least until Billy ruins it with his opinion. 

 

“I think you might wanna sit this one out Harrington.”

 

“Fuck you.” The words taste like venom but he welcomes it all the same. Billy blushes at the words, he looks away, examining the other parts of the kitchen. “I’m fine. I’m going. You’re not stopping me.”

 

“You’re gonna get hurt or killed. Queenie will have herself a royal fit.”

 

“Why do you care?”

 

Steve’s on a roll tonight. Once again Billy resorts to silence. Despite the comfort, Steve shoulders off the blanket. He makes a move to the garage. “We’ll take your car. Pop the trunk.”

 

* * *

 

 

It’s Will’s idea to tie the dead demo-dog to a pipe. Steve pulls the short stick and Billy’s eyes stink of anger. Steve knows that he’s probably the fastest out of everyone but he also knows he isn’t in the best condition to play bait. Alas, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He isn’t the only person who knows this but at least they wait until they’re alone. “Hand it over Harrington you’re not gonna make it.”

 

“Not gonna happen Hargrove.”

 

“Do I have to beat the shit out of you in order for you to hand it over?”

 

Steve adjusts the bag on his back. He thinks about taking off right then but he needs to save his energy. He adjusts the straps and checks for his bat. He turns to Billy. He takes Billy’s hands into his own. Billy stiffens at the contact.

 

“Listen, Billy, we need you. We need you ready to use these if it comes down to it. You can’t do that if you’re too busy staying off the menu. You said my bat isn’t enough and I agree… watch my back instead?” Steve to this day has never been this yielding toward anyone, not even Nancy.

 

The other boy stands, the silence is stunning. If Steve can keep this up, Billy will never say another word again in his presence. Within his own hands, Steve feels Billy’s tight fist. He nods and Steve smiles, they’re on the same page.

 

* * *

 

 

They split into three groups. It’s an entire hour before they can get their first glimpse. After that, it doesn't take long for things to get moving. They make it over the railroad tracks hoping to corner in in the junkyard. Somehow Steve finds himself with Max, Lucas, and Billy and so far everyone is playing nice. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, people tend to find a commonality in the face of opposition.

 

They’re all running. Lucas and his slingshot, bless his heart but the boy needs to choose better weapons. Max with her razor-sharp blades the size of machetes. Billy and his brass knuckles, in a permanent fist. Steve thinks of himself; his bat sticking out the back of his pack with Molotov cocktails weighing it down and in his hands... the decaying dog.

 

He can hear it coming up the rear, Steve swallows whatever fatigue he feels and takes off. He breaks away from the group with incredible speed.

 

A few more yards and they’ll be home free. A gunshot rings out, a piercing cry follows soon after. The thing really takes off after that. “The junkyard Steve! The junkyard!” Hoppers voice carries through the woods.

 

They get it to the clearing. Steve waits until it’s inside the circle, he didn’t tell them about this part of the plan. It all goes so fast. He reaches into his bag and pulls out one of the special cocktails. He lights the rag and pitches it to the wet ground. Within seconds a ring of fire encases the clearing in a wall of flames.

 

Steve looks around. He realizes that it’s him, Max, Lucas, the Demo-Beowulf and a whole lot of junk. He can hear everyone outside scrambling, and calling out to them. Steve feels like an idiot. If he’s inside the circle alone with it that’s one thing in itself but never in a million years would he want one of the kids to meet their end as well.

 

“Get on the bus!” Max and Lucas ignore him.

 

“NOW! GET ON THE FUCKING BUS!” This time around, they get the message and the two get on the bus.

 

Steve stands there ready to face uncertain death. His enemy, is almost the size of the bus itself. Its black and slimy skin make him want to vomit. He can’t let that thing get to people. He glances at his flaming wall, it’s not gonna hold up much longer.

 

He drops his pack, he can hear the glass breaking. He pulls out his bat, still holding the pole. The thing pitches one hell of a roar and Steve almost shits his pants. He grips the bat; he and the monster square off.

 

“Is it Dart? Let me talk to him!” Dustin’s voice barely carries over the flames.

 

“Nope!”

 

He takes several hard breaths. With a war cry, he barrels forward. It mimics him. The two charge at one another, David and Goliath. He chucks the pole into the flames and it’s enough of a distraction. When it tries to change direction, he swings with all his might. He connects with its leg, he brings it down but isn’t enough.

 

It's tail… wait he didn’t remember those things having tails. Next thing he knows, he's airborne. He feels the impact of hitting the bus and it depletes him. Barely holding on, he can make out Max and Lucas screaming for him. They’re closer than they should be. He opens his eyes to see Max hovering over him. Lucas grabbing the bag. He tries to move her out the way but her strength keeps him on the ground.

 

Lucas brings the bag near the dying flames. Steve tries to tell him, but Max pushes him back down. “We know idiot, we can smell it.”

 

“Get ready! Here it comes!” Steve squints enough to see Lucas swinging the flaming bag above his head. Steve wants them to run, Lucas is too close, standing at Death’s doorstep.

 

It charges at full speed. Lucas flings it with all his might. The combustible liquid makes contact. The flames spread over the beast, its screams reach the high heavens.

 

The flames taper enough for everyone to make it inside even though Joyce and Hopper try to keep them back. Billy takes off for Steve. Max is smart enough to move out his way. 

 

“What were you thinking you fucking asshole? You could have gotten yourself killed. The fucking kids were with you!” Steve can’t tell if Billy is mad his lack of self-preservation or for the fact that the kids are here too.

 

“Lucas? Where’s Lucas?” Steve moves to get up again. Billy shoves him back to the ground.

 

“He’s fine. They’re taking it down now.” Billy’s voice is harsh and uneven like he wants to break something. He keeps his hand flat on Steve’s chest, it’s heavy. Steve lays back but he turns away from Billy. 

 

They circle the creature. El has both hands pointing at it. Her nose is bleeding but she her face shows incredible strain. The monster cries out to the sky. Then something happens, El drops her hands, her face, pale. The massive thing splits. It multiplies into what Steve thinks is four of them. He turns back toward Billy who's staring at him.

 

“Uh, Billy?”

 

“Shhh… it’s gonna be okay.”

 

“No, Billy--” He hears someone screaming and that’s enough to get Billy to turn around.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

There are six demo-dogs, all on fire and none giving a fuck. It’s quite a terrible sight. Billy takes one last look at Steve before hopping to his feet. Both sides form a line, Billy looks down at the weird little kid with special powers. She doesn’t look so good.

 

“Hey, you okay?” El looks up at him but the next thing he knows she hits the ground. The group turns their attention toward her but it’s too late the dogs' attack.

 

Out a corner of his eye he can see one of those things heading straight for the little girl. He drops into a fighting stance and just as it gets close enough he sends it back a few yards with a right hook.

 

Mike and Hopper drop to either side of her. They’re both fussing to no end and neither one of them make sense. Dustin cuts in and tells Mike to grab her arms while he hoists her legs. Together they cart her back to the bus next to Steve.

 

Billy and Hopper each stare longingly near the bus. Billy’s face echoes the same heavy sentiments at the chief. Like a shower, rage washes over them both. They share a bit of eye contact and mirror a head nod.

 

Hopper ready’s his rifle and Billy flexes his fingers. With aim and precision worthy of the record books the two step into the fray and rain down hell.

 

* * *

 

 

Steve jolts awake. Much like two nights ago he gets up in a cold sweat but this time his entire body aches. He moves to sit up and it’s the worst thing in the world. There’s crying, his back feels like shit and probably looks like it. Looking around sees that he’s back at the Byer’s house… in Jonathan’s bed.

 

 Joyce sits next to him putting a bag of ice on his face. It’s been so long, he’s forgotten what mothering feels like. He doesn’t want to get a to that so he softly bats her hand away but that doesn’t stop her. She smooths back his hair and eases him back onto the pillow like he loves him. Steve can’t take it, his eyes flood.

 

“Where are they? What happened?”

 

“Shhhh… sweetheart, everything is fine. El is fine, she just got tired. She’s resting.” Steve can hear it in her voice, something’s wrong.

 

“Lucas? Max? Where are they?” His voice is so small it shames him.

 

“All the kids piled into Will’s room. They’re playing cards and watching El.” Joyce cups her hand over her mouth. She can’t stop the tears. Steve struggles to sit up.

 

“What kind of mother am I? I let my own children go out into the middle of the woods to fight a monster. I let all of you go. You could have been killed Steve.” Joyce looks at him the same way she did Will that night a week ago.

 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know-- I just wanted-- I mean for anyone to get hurt.”

 

“What about you Steve? You and Max and Lucas got caught in the ring… what if the wall didn’t come down in time. I couldn’t get to any of you.”

 

“I didn’t mean for the kids to be there… I’m sorry Mrs. Byers.” He's weeping now. He can't stand to see that look in her eyes--disappointment.

 

“You didn’t even see yourself… have you looked in a mirror! What if… I just can’t...” 

 

“I will never put one of their lives in danger again, I swear! I’ll stay away if you want. I promise. Don’t hate me. I’ll go… I’ll go right now.” Steve’s openly sobbing at this point. He doesn’t look at her but stands instead. Joyce arrests him in a hug.

 

Steve shudders at the feel. Her arms aren’t like tentacles trapping him but instead like the blanket Billy put around his shoulders. This feels like love. Steve desperately loses it. Joyce doesn’t let go, she pulls him in tighter. In this hug, she nurses the wounds on his soul and while it doesn’t fix him… it’s nice. He’s seventeen years old and he hasn’t seen his parents in a year, there’s a dead girl at home and he keeps finding himself at this house where terrible things happen but at least good people live here.

 

“I’m not a good person! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen… it should have been me not her! I’m bullshit! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Steve can’t tell if he’s making sense but he feels Joyce crawl behind him and drag him into her lap. She doesn’t let go. She rocks him and kisses the top of his head. She lets him dissolve into despair because he knows that’s where he belongs. Good people don’t kill smart girls at house parties.

 

* * *

 

 

Billy stands next to Jonathan and Nancy and the three of them watch the carcasses burn. They look like hell but they’re alive. The devastating glow is unnerving and satisfying at the same time. They each hope that this is the last time… they pray after this night there’s no more trouble from the Upside Down.

 

Hopper approaches them. He watches the glow in the same manner. Billy turns to look at him then back at the fire.

 

“You said to order a pizza? Extra pepperoni?”

 

Billy thinks he'll like his joke at the end but Hopper glances at him. Nancy and Jonathan do as well, because of Hopper they all know how to order a pizza.

 

“The works kid.”

 

A clicking sound comes over the radio. “Hopper… come in Hopper.” It’s Joyce.

 

He answers. “Yeah.”

 

“Meet me near the entrance, Steve won’t go to a hospital. I need some supplies from the station but it works better if I’m not breaking an entering.”

 

“Copy that. Over and out.” Hopper turns to the kids. “Somebody needs to stay here and make sure it burns out.”

 

Jonathan and Nancy share a look and just as he’s about to agree Billy interjects. “I can check on the kids and Steve.”

 

No one appears to enjoy this course of action, so Billy tries again. “I won’t let anything happen to them… any of them. You have my word.”

 

Nancy’s jaw works double time. Jonathan shifts from one foot to the other. They both look to Hopper for the answer. He keeps his eyes on Billy until his tense frame loosens. “Fine. Stay there until someone gets back. We shouldn’t be too long.” Hopper points down the hill, not even a mile away. “That’s the Byer’s house kid, follow that trail it’ll get you there faster than any shortcut.”

 

Billy nods. Both men depart from the fire and the two other teens.

 

It takes Billy about fifteen minutes but he comes out to the road not too far from the Byer’s house. He starts up the street where he can see Christmas lights. He gets to the driveway and stops cold. All the cars except for Joyce’s remain, the front door is wide open. Rancid loud yelling shocks him. His eyes scan the yard in a panic. When he sees it, his feet move before his brain can fully process the sight of Neil’s car.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what ya'll think...


	4. House of the Rising Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil’s here...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost I want to say thank you and I love you to those who commented, kudoed, bookmarked or just flat out read. (Hits count.) 
> 
> I had some major performance anxiety about this chapter. I wrote it 6 times and wrote four other stories in avoidance. I’m comfortable with this... I can live with this...
> 
> I hope somebody likes it.

From the comfort of Jonathan's bed, Steve listens to the kids whisper about whatever kids talk about after the battle of their lives. This isn’t normal, how they’ll go to school as if nothing is happening. Steve knows everyone is bone tired and he regrets ever calling for backup in the first place.

He can hear solid footsteps leading from the other room into the one he’s in, it’s the boys. Mike sinks to the floor propping his chin up on the side of the bed. Lucas slides next to Steve’s feet at the bottom. Will hovers over bed but he doesn’t disturb it. It’s Dustin who invades his space carefully propping Steve’s head on his lap.

 _‘I thought I was mom.’_ Steve smiles at the thought but sighs when he feels Dustin’s fingers tread his scalp.

Much like with Joyce there are tears but he’s thankful that everyone’s safe. .

“You did great tonight,” Will’s observation is soft but it penetrates the blood pounding in his ears.

“Yeah, you totally kicked ass and I don’t know what you said to Max’s brother but he wasn’t such a dick this time. He’s even helping Hop clean up the demo mess.”

A new wave of fear crashes into Steve’s chest. “Billy?” He tries to sit up again but Dustin doesn’t let him.

“Shhh...big guy, it’s okay. He’s just fine. Everything is gonna be okay. Just close your eyes.” Dustin’s voice is like a lullaby.

His body aches less and less the more Dustin strokes his head. He leans into the boy’s touch and soon his heavy eyelids shut.

* * *

 

Steve’s sure as shit that he hasn’t been sleeping that long but when he comes to, he’s alone, but something’s wrong. The kids are gone and there’s loud yelling from the living room from a voice he doesn’t recognize. It still hurts but the idea of them being in danger gives him new energy, it’s enough for him to stand on his own.

His legs carry him to the hallway and but he stops at Will’s door: El’s awake but glaring at the doorway like she wants to go through it. Mike’s has a solid hold on her as he speaks in a calm voice. Max is practically making herself invisible by the window and Steve motions for her to open it.

The booming voice grows clearer as Steve continues down the hall. In the living room stands a man he doesn’t know and he has Lucas and Dustin each by the collar. A new rage fills Steve when this man lifts them off ground. Their feet dangle over the carpet.

“Put them down!” Steve barrels over and yanks the kids out of the man’s grip. He shoves them behind him and both boys retreat without a fight.

Steve tries to square up, plant his feet as hard as he can but this guy is a mountain. He’s frame is lean but wiry, it’s scary how agile he appears. The man turns to face Steve sizing him up. He plucks a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it. The motion looks all too familiar; the way the man has one hand on his hip, the sinister smile on his face, and the general sense of terror he feels standing in front of the man.

“Jesus kid, have you seen your face?” The bastard’s laughing which only fuels Steve more, he feels weightless.

“This is private property, you need to leave.” Steve chooses to ignore the man’s question.

“Not until I get my kid. Where’s Max?” An aching feeling drowns all the bravado and he trips over his own feet as he stumbles back. “Christ boy, plant your fucking feet! I thought your balls had dropped! Did I scare you boy?”

Neil Hargrove sounds like a villain from the beginning of a B-Rate horror film. It’s too early to tell how bad it can get and terrifying because no villain ever loses in the beginning. Neil takes one more pull before stalking forward. Steve barely gets his hands up defensively before Neil pins him to the wall… this must be a tradition in the Hargrove house.

Steve’s whole body hits the wall at the same time. It’s precise and stings but the fear seizes him too fast to feel anything else. His feet are still on the floor but Neil is an immovable force. Steve’s next words fly out of his mouth so fast he doesn’t recognize his own voice.

“Mr. Harg- Hargrove! Mr. Hargrove please--

“Mr. Hargrove please…” Neil mocks him. “You sound worse than my son and I ain’t seen that good for nothing piece of shit in a month of Sundays. You look like that kind of faggot that’s right up his alley. You know where my son is boy?”

Steve shakes his head.

“You lying piece of fucking trash! You probably got him spread out like some bitch in heat! I move halfway across the country and he starts this shit again!”

Neil’s grip gets even tighter and Steve’s brain is running on fumes. He can see Neil’s lips moving, spittle flying out his mouth and his face turning a tomato red. Dread courses through his veins like venom. He can hear the boys yells and then suddenly Neil isn’t holding him in place.

Lucas has his slingshot and he’s launching leftover pebbles at Neil. Dustin stands next to him shouting out obscenities. “Get out you son of a bitch! You fucking asshole! You don’t have the right to touch any of us! Stay the fuck away from us!”

Neil gets ahold of himself because he stalking toward the boys with his hands up blocking the small speeding objects. He’s screaming and cussing just as loud as Dustin. Steve’s head is spinning, the pain charges back ten fold. He stumbles to get in front of the boys when another voice calls out.

“Dad.”

Everything stops. Neil’s within striking distance and Steve can feel the boys clinging to his back. Neil’s no longer fixing his aggression on them but rather the other side of the room. Now with his back to the children, Steve can breathe. Sadly, that cool relief morphs into nausea as he lays eyes on Max and Billy at the front door.

Steve’s heart breaks at the sight. Max makes herself so small as she curls into Billy’s side, she’s clinging onto his hand so tight. She doesn’t shake or tremble, just waits for the storm heading her way.

Billy, the poster child for badassery doesn’t posture or show off in front of his father like he does most waking hours. Billy stands like the birch trees near Hawkin’s Lab. Like those trees in the forest, Billy is decaying; rotting from inside out because of someone else’s abuse and negligence. The world turns upside down and yet the trees down fall, neither does Billy.

He rounds up the courage and pushes away from the cowering boys, his will growing with each passing second. He catches up to Neil and wraps a hand around his shoulder. He’s sure it’s Max who gasps at the act of stupidity.

It’s like all time stops and Steve can only wince at the searing connection burning the palm of his hand. Neil turns slowly, he latches on to Steve’s hand pulling it off of him effortlessly. The crushing grip is enough to make him want to weep but he doesn’t. It takes seconds before Steve is airborne and then everything else is in slow motion after that.

He can see Billy whisper something to Max, he can hear the boys screaming again, and biting through his tongue he can taste the metallic of his own blood filling his mouth. The force of his body hitting the floor scares the breath right out of him causing him to bite into his tongue. The sound of him choking has more to do with pain than him actually choking. Neil looks down at him with such genuine pity it makes Steve want to die. Billy’s no longer in the doorway, he’s standing closer to Steve rocking on the balls of his feet.

Dustin and Lucas pull Steve to his feet. He feels a third set of hands and there behind him is Will. Steve reaches to pull the other boys out of danger.

“Bad man.” An eerie voice breaks the uneven tension in the room. El’s voice is like a cold shower, she and Mike stand in the hallway opening; they’re both openly glaring at Neil.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Neil turns back to Steve because he isn’t stupid enough to say anything to the intimidating little girl.

Steve has to think fast before the man grows too angry to care. “Mrs. Wheeler invited all the kids over to host a campaign for a Dungeons & Dragons. Max wanted to come so I asked him and he said yes. He was just on his way to bring Max back home.”

Neil knows it’s a crock of shit but with one more look at El he seems to agree with Steve. He turns back to his own children. “Get in the car Maxine… Billy lets go.”

Steve watches breathlessly as Neil snatches Max and pulls her out the door leaving Billy no other option. Steve sprints the short distance to Billy grabbing on for dear life.

“Let go Harrington.” Billy sounds so final, so sure of what’s to come.

“Billy wait. We need to call Hopper… we’re supposed to--

“Everything is gonna be alright. I can feel it.”

Steve sees Neil standing by the door listening, waiting for Billy to make a move; Max is already in the car. Steve jumps at a thought but Billy puts a hand on his shoulder. “You have to let us go… you gotta let me go. Listen, he hits harder than I do princess so I may not show up for school; not that you go anyway. If you do can you make sure Max gets home?” Billy’s fingers graze the still visible bruises coloring other teen’s face.

Steve wants to cry. Billy’s telling him the axe is coming and the tree is finally gonna fall. A week is a long time away from home when you live with a time bomb. The explosion alone will tear Billy apart regardless if his father means to or not. Steve’s fingers grip the fabric of Billy’s now filthy shirt. Noticing how dirty the other boy is reminds him of all the work they’ve put into keeping people safe. People who will never know or say thank you, they’ll live selfishly, ignorant to the pint sized heroes and badass teenagers risking everything minutes after midnight. Steve wants to vomit because everyone did such a beautiful job and not a single person had to be there… especially Billy.

Steve doesn’t fight when Billy pulls away. He watches Billy plant his feet one step after the next like he’s trying to root them to the floor. Steve longs to call out to him, tell him it’s okay, that he’s not mad about anything. He needs Billy to know that he isn’t perfect but he deserves nice things.

Watching Billy watch Neil get into the same car as Max before Billy slides in next to Max right behind his father is the worst thing Steve can imagine. A sickening cold washes over him. He doesn’t feel El tugging on his arm or the other voices in the room. He just feel sick at the sound of the tires groan over rocks as the car exits the yard and coast down the road.

“He’s crying.... We need to call Hopper. Dustin radio Hopper. El are you okay? Mike make her sit down.” It’s Lucas who takes charge.

Steve wipes the tears out of his eyes in time to feel something press into the palm of his hand. He opens his hand to see keys… Billy’s keys. Lucas stands at his side. “Take me with you.”

“Call Hop…”

“Dustin’s talking to him now.”

Steve now hears Dustin yelling into the radio and what sounds like Joyce talking back.

“You can’t… I can’t…” Steve’s staring holes into Billy’s Camaro so much so that he can’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly Nancy is crowding him and Jonathan searches him for other injuries. It’s enough to pull Steve out of his own head and take in his surroundings. Will’s by Lucas’ side speaking softly to the young man who seems to be calming with each passing second. Mike and El are on the couch. He can still taste blood in his mouth and Nancy is cussing up a storm.

“That son of a bitch! He promised me! I’m gonna fucking kill him for touching you.” Steve can’t recall an angrier Nancy except for getting drunk and calling him bullshit.

“Thank God.” Jonathan moves away from Steve and out the door as Hopper’s car comes dangerously close to colliding with the house. Joyce’s car isn’t too far behind. They both get out their cars at a running start. Poor Joyce looks scared to death.

Will approaches his mom and she scoops him up thanking the universe that he’s well. Jonathan joins them only to hoist Will on his back only to hoist Will on his back and tote the boy back inside the house where its warmer. Hopper’s already inside with Mike, Lucas and Dustin all talking to him at once. Nancy tears herself away from Steve and storms through the pint size terrors to give Hopper a piece of her mind.

“Billy attacked Steve again! Look at him! Arrest him or I’ll do it, I swear to God Hop!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about Nancy!” Mike ever ready to prove his sister wrong.

“What happened to Steve? I thought something happened to Max. You said someone took Max. Where is she?” Hopper’s questions exit at the rate he’s able to walk the area of the small house. He makes it back to Steve and much like Jonathan he begins examining him.

“Stop I’m fine!” The blood isn’t a good indicator seeing as it’s seeping at the edges of his mouth.

“Kid you’re bleeding out the mouth right...I don’t think you’re okay. I know Billy put his work in tonight but I gave him a fair warning about your welfare.”

“HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” Steve barely registers that he’s yelling.

“Then who? The boogeyman?” Nancy doesn’t know how spot on she is about this one.

“Close...Neil… Neil Hargrove.”

Jonathan, Nancy and Joyce all trade looks of confusion whereas Hopper looks more comfortable with the idea that Billy’s responsible rather than Neil. “You’re telling me that Neil Hargrove roughed you up Steve?”

Dustin decides this is a perfect moment to jump in and he goes head first. “Okay first off Steve’s right and we’re his witnesses… Billy didn’t touch him. Max’s dad—

“He’s Billy’s dad.” Lucas interrupts for the same reason Steve wants him not to—it’s true.

Dustin continues talking but Steve isn’t listening anymore. He eye’s Billy’s car thinking about his own car sitting in his driveway. Thinking about how he wants to talk to Barb… thinking about Neil’s fist crashing recklessly into Billy. He closes his eyes tight. He pushes out all the noise, turns it into a continuous piercing shrill that ebbs the back of his brain. He won’t get home in time and save Billy but he knows he doesn’t need to.

Barb teaches him things about how she exist in this world and the Upside Down. She shows him tricks that mostly only she can do. Steve’s thankful that this one he can do. He feels crazy because it doesn’t work with anyone else… at least that’s what Barb says. The sound calms into a soft hum.

 _Barb?_ He can’t see her the way El is able to see people she visits. It’s almost like talking on the phone except he doesn’t open his mouth and there’s alway a monster headache after.

 _Steve? Are you okay?_ Her voice is soft but fearful.

_I need your help. My friend, the boy who came to the house is in trouble, he needs my help._

_I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do for you Steve, not from here._

_What if I roll out? Will you step in?_

_You didn’t like it last time. After touching you maybe we should hold off--_

_Please… he’s gonna die. I can’t let anyone else die Barb. I can’t let his dad hurt him._

_Okay. Listen Steve--_

“STEVE!” There’s someone grabbing him, two hands shaking him out of the darkness. The dim lighting in the Byer’s living room is shocking.

There’s an intense pounding in his head and his legs feel like jelly but he doesn’t show his pain outside of wincing.

“Jesus, your nose is bleeding. That man probably gave you brain damage. How hard did the back of your head hit the ground?” Joyce rushes to the kitchen only to return with a damp towel.

Steve touches above his lip and pulls back bloody fingers. He scans the room and everyone share concerning looks, well everyone but El. With both arm across her chest and her eyes squinting dangerously tight it’s safe to say that she suspects something.

“I guess he did a number on me. So Hop what’s the plan? Are you gonna arrest him?” Steve accepts the towel from Joyce in an effort to distract himself from the child’s scrutiny.

Hopper now has the room because those are two questions on everyone’s mind. What will Hopper do to Neil Hargrove, a man who abuses his family but is a relatively quiet member of the community. The Hargrove family won’t survive this petri dish of a small town. The Byer’s are still feeling the ramifications of raising a “dead boy”.

“Hop he’s right!”

“He needs to be arrested Hopper, he came into my house and assaulted children!”

“Let him sink to the bottom of the lake, who’s gonna go looking for him.”

Steve watches as everyone begins stirring their own suspicions about what’s gonna happen and how Hopper should handle it. Steve doesn’t think that children should be suggesting murder but he doesn’t disagree. Either way, he doesn’t intervene, and with everyone down Hopper’s throat he knows he has time to do something.

 _Crackle… static… crackle…_ everyone’s head snaps toward the radio on the kitchen table. “Hello… is anyone there?” It’s Max!

They all rush to it but it’s Lucas who gets there first. “We’re here!”

When she comes through again it’s not exactly quiet in the background, but they can still hear her. “I need extra large pizza with the works.”

She says it fast and in the background a voice calls out, “who the fuck said you could order a pizza this time of night? Where the fuck are you getting a pizza? Hey! I’m talking to you, get back here you little brat!... Boy, what the hell do you think you’re doing!” She must be moving because the voice gets further and further away.

No one says a word after that. They all wait and listen for any incoming noise. It’s quiet enough to only make out the sound of Max breathing softly until all of the collective tension is too much for the universe. A waterfall of violent curse words and heavy sounds of collision fill the transmission.

Steve can’t listen to another moment. He backtracks out the house and with Billy’s keys still in his hand he marches up the driveway and is glad enough that Billy’s car is a distance away from the house but still visible from the doorway. With one last look he disappears into the night.

* * *

 

The inside of Billy’s Camaro smells like him: Newports, cheap cologne and even cheaper beer. Steve’s hands grip the leather wheel as his foot forces the pedal closer to the floor. Billy’s car is different from any other car Steve’s ever driven. From the wheel, to the gear shift, to the gas pedal and even the brakes, the car makes you work for its performance. Steve has to man the car like he deserves to be in the driver’s seat. Much like Billy, the car makes you prove yourself.

The engine reeves as the car kicks up dirt on the small town back roads. Trees in woods he refuses to walk through anymore are a blur in his peripheral. He catches his turn and follows through moving the wheel right. Steve knows every shortcut, alleyway and detour in this shithole town so it’s only fitting that he makes it to Billy’s house before the police.

He hits the breaks angling the car haphazardly in the yard. Stepping out the car still hot from his race across town he can feel the crisp grass crunch under his feet. The air outside is cold and stale, and with a farm not even half a mile down the street the animal stench travels. None of that matters to Steve.

From the outside this small unassuming house has no real neighbors to care about the noise or at least any who are willing to make a fuss about it. The lights from the living room gives way to an impressive shadow hovering near the window.

Steve takes a deep breath. He doesn’t focus on the chorus of breaking furniture and angry yelling, he searches for the white noise to cancel it all out. Steve starts to lose count of his steps, it’s like he’s floating along rather than arriving at a destination.

 _Steve?_ Although he can’t see her, Barb sounds like she’s right next to him. He can even feel her aura pushing against his own.

 _I’m here…_ This last part is always the hardest. Giving up control of his body while he floats in some dead space will never become normal.

_Are you ready?_

He doesn’t answer back because his brain feels like it’s on a backwards roller coaster. Before his foot hits the front step Steve’s world goes black.

* * *

 

_“Harrington… wake up. I want you to open those beautiful eyes.”_

Steve wakes up gasping. He hauls air in and out of his body like he’s just breaking the surface. Safely back in his room in the same clothes… just dirtier. As a matter of fact his clothes are filthy--dark wet fluid muddles his clothes. His body aches, his limbs feel like ground beef but he manages to sit up okay. He focuses ahead into the mirror across the room. Steve expects to be looking into the face of hell but for some reason his face looks normal. With a lot of the bruising from his fight with Billy gone he looks like himself again.

Well… almost.

There’s a sunken look under his eyes. They’re not bags but the skin there is grayish and ghaunt. He’s overall a few shades sicker but still not as ghoulish as under his eyes. He’d give David Bowie a run for his money if they ever make a sequel to Hunger.

_Ring…_

Steve sits for a moment. The constant jingle in the distance brings him crashing into reality. Steve looks down at his clothes, he thinks about Barb and what they did.

_Ring…_

His body hurts like he’s come in contact with a meat grinder but he doesn’t know where all the blood came from. Steve’s the most sure that the wet stains for blood... the metallic smell gutting his senses.

_Ding… Dong…_

Someone’s pounding at the door seconds after the bell. They bang on the heavy oak with great authority. Steve goes to his window to see a squad car. He begins to panic at what it all means. The events rush back so fast it’s almost painful. If he sits there long enough then maybe they’ll go away but nothing’s a guarantee. The banging continues along with the phone.

_Ring… Ring…_

_Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!_

_Ring… Ring…_

_Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!_

His head spins with the possibilities: Neil could be dead or worse… maybe Steve didn’t make it in time to stop Neil. Thinking through his options because he can’t answer both, the phone is the better deal.

“Hello?”

“Steve where the hell have you been?!” It’s Nancy but why is she calling him when she should be at school.

“Nancy?”

“Steve I swear on everything I love that if you don’t explain yourself right now I’ll kill you. Do you understand that everyone is looking for you?” She’s breathing heavy, like she running a marathon.

“Huh?”

Nancy pauses. She’s quiet enough hear what’s going on in the background. The commotion sounds like quite a rush. There are sirens back to back and car horns; the makings of a busy roadway.

“I’m at the hospital Steve… I came back, thinking I’d finally see you here. I thought you would come here but--

“Jesus are you okay? What’s wrong? Is it one of the kids? Is it…” Steve can’t bring himself to say the last name because he knows everything will no longer be fine after he does.

“Yeah… Steve it’s bad. We don’t know if-- Where are you? Max said--

**BOOM!**

Steve drops the phone at the sound of the front door flying off the hinges. He makes it to the front foyer just as several police officers enter his home. The next thing he knows, there’s a knee in his back and handcuffs are locking his arms in place.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: After reading this I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t terrible... right? yeah? nah? Okay...  
> Evil Me: Trash it.
> 
> For real if you got to this point good shit. As far this story is chaptered is concerned I was talking to my muse and we were like how cool it would be if Neil was hella likable to everyone else BUT his son. I didn’t pep that shit until it was too late. Because of what I wrote in chapter 3 I realized I’m gonna have to roll with what I wrote. 
> 
> I’m inches away from pulling this story and starting over. I hope I don’t... either way what did you guys think.


	5. Bohemian Rhapsody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I re-read the chapter I got to thinking... this has a butt load of angst... my bad!

“You arrested him!” Hopper’s voice breeches the interrogation room door. Steve balances on a wooden chair’s back two legs. 

The door knob twists and seconds later Chief Hopper enters with Officer Callahan and Florence. Hopper’s glaring at Callahan who’s smart enough to keep his head down. Florence immediately takes a seat near his balancing chair, prompting him to let the chair down. 

Mrs. Harrington and Florence frequent the same church every major holiday the couple makes an appearance in their small town. Their friendliness awards Steve Florence’s loyalty. 

Hopper occupies the only other seat in the room meaning Callahan must remain standing. Hopper tries for Steve’s attention who’s only  _ slightly _ sneering cockily at the officer who’s responsible for his  door. 

“Steve…” 

“Yes  _ Chief _ Hopper.” Steve immediately regrets his attitude. He even goes the extra mile of sitting up straight but it’s too late because the chief ain’t here for it. 

“Yep, your ass better sit hell up, and watch your mouth. Who do you think you’re talking to? Where the hell have you been? Be glad I’m not your father or my foot would have a permanent spot up your ass... Don’t look at me like that Florence!”

Steve fixes his mouth to answer but the chief stops him all too soon. “Do you know how many hours my men were out looking for you? No, you have no fucking clue! Three days kid, you walked out the Byer’s house and nobody’s seen you since!”

Steve immediately feels the world go at a tilt, his body must show the shock because Callahan and Hopper are both diving  to catch him. He turns his head feeling sick but Hopper is already a step ahead of him. A trash can appears catching all the contents he doesn’t have in his stomach, most of the bile being acid. 

“My goodness, should we call an ambulance?” Florence smooths Steve’s hair back from his face and Callahan hops to his feet ready to do as she says. 

“EVERYONE OUT!” Hopper yells at the other adults halting their frantic actions. Both Florence and Callahan look at him like he’s growing another head as loud as he’s yelling. 

Hopper takes a deep breath as Steve stops retching and returns to an upright position on his own accord. “Florence get him some water and Callahan try reaching his parents again. Please?”

Florence leaves reluctantly whereas Callahan all but hightails it out of there. Hopper places a hand on the back of his neck. Steve leans into the older man.

“Take a deep breath, everything is gonna be fine.” Hopper’s voice is soothing and small but it gets through to the gasping boy. In no time he’s breathing normally. 

The door opens but Hopper intercepts the bottle of water before Florence can shoulder her way into the place. He hands it over to Steve who graciously accepts it and drinks immediately. 

“Thanks Hopp.” 

“Where are your parents?” He doesn’t waste any time. 

“On a cruise.” Lies…

“When are they coming back?” 

“Dunno. They didn’t say… maybe it’s a world tour.” That part isn’t a lie. 

Hopper sits on the edge of the table, his face wearing fatigue like a new coat. The way he’s looking at Steve makes the boy’s chest seize. They exchange silence in that tiny room but one of them must break.

“Steve… when you drove away you didn’t go home, you weren’t at school… hell you’ve missed enough days to warrant a call to child protective services.” There’s a long pause. “We found Billy’s car in Lillian, Ohio. Town so small it ain’t even on a fucking map.” Hopper takes a deep breath before his next words. “Did you go to Billy Hargrove’s house?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Max said she heard another voice talking to Neil and it wasn’t Billy. She said the voice wasn’t one she’s heard before but it was for sure a man’s voice.”

“And she thinks that was me? It could have been anyone. I went for a drive and I parked at this bar a few towns over. I have a fake id and got wasted. I must of had too much cause when I left my wallet, keys and the car were gone. I hitchhiked it back to Hawkins. A day and a night’s worth of walking. When I got home I just passed the fuck out. Hop I swear I didn’t go to the Hargrove’s house… I wouldn’t go near his dad... not after him making his acquaintance at the Byer’s.” Hopper’s poker face is solid. He doesn’t blink, twitch or react to anything Steve says. There are moments when Steve tries to keep the lie in check and there are other points where he wants to scream, “jigs up”. 

When he finishes he nervously peels back the skin near his thumb nail. Even though they fight the things that go bump in the night, Steve knows that Hopper can’t and won’t overlook cold blood murder. There’s blood all over his hands no matter how clean they look now. Hopper sighs real deep and rubs a hand down his face. 

“Neil Hargrove is missing.” 

Steve can’t feel the floor underneath his feet so he pulls his legs into his chair. He tucks his knees under his chin inadvertently making himself childlike. Hopper’s eyes sweep over his form again, there’s so much pity there. Steve speculates  how that look isn’t really pity. It’s just the look a cop gives to a perp better they toss them in jail and throw away the key. His uncle Marty went to prison when Steve was a little kid and got out just last year. He doesn’t remember his uncle before going in but he’s a hell of a strange man now. Steve can’t end up like that, he can’t end up any crazier than he already is. 

“Don’t worry. We have 24 hour watch over the entire ICU and so many eyes in town on the lookout that if he so much as sneezes we’ll know about it. He will never be able to hurt Billy again.” 

Steve perks up at this information or at least what he thinks Hopper is saying. “Billy’s safe… he won’t get to him?”

“Nope.” 

“But he’s hurt? Where’s Billy?” 

* * *

 

Sitting in the front seat of the chief’s truck Steve is as stiff as a board. They aren’t that close to their destination nor is Hopper racing to get there. Steve pulls on the seatbelt which in turn fastens him in tighter to his seat. The car jerks him with every bump and turn to the point where he’s queasy again. 

“Pull over…” Steve mumbles the words so quickly he isn’t sure Hopper knows he said anything, The man pulls to the shoulder and Steve jumps out and vomits on the side of the road. 

Hopper rounds the front side of the vehicle and leans against the hood. He lights a cigarette. Steve can feel the man’s eye glaring a hole into him like he knows Steve’s guilty of something… he just can’t prove it yet. 

“What?” Steve spits out his question with the last of his stomach lining. The acidic taste make his tongue and teeth feel weird and chalky. 

“You were coughing up that grey shit at the station…”

Steve looks down at the ditch he’s been aiming into and sure enough the small hole is full of grayish slime. He doesn’t look back up at Hopper because he can’t  handle it. His brain fires off excuse after excuse but none of them sound viable. 

“Oh…”

“That’s all you have to say?” 

“When I made the ring of fire at the junkyard the fucking monster came at him. It hit me with it’s tail. I haven’t been feeling too hot since.” He’s getting pretty good at all this lying he’s doing. 

Hopper flicks the disintegrating white stick into the woods. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything? I can give Owens a call and have one of his guys look at you.” 

“No… no… no… I’m okay really I am. I don’t need to see him. I think it was all the excitement. See? No broken skin.” Steve lifts up his shirt and thankfully his chest and stomach are bruise free.

“You’ve been missing for three days. For all we know that thing could be laying eggs in your stomach.”

“This isn’t Alien Hop.”

“Well it sure fucking feels like it. I hate that fucking movie.” 

Steve can recognize the undertones of worry and fear he sees in his own eyes when he does look in a mirror. He supposes that, that’s what connects them all… fear. If not Steve would still be king with Nancy on his arm but he wouldn’t have Jonathan or the rugrats to call friends. It makes him sad at the same time… Nancy would eventually still leave him and Chief Hopper would think him a knucklehead not worth the time. Everyone would eventually fall into their destiny, even Steve. 

A right fucking mess with no parents and two shitheads for friends. A neverending rotation of girls and parties well until Billy Hargrove. For whatever reason Billy would always be an aggravating factor in Steve’s life… no matter what his presence brings about change. Maybe he and Billy could have joined forces or maybe Billy would have seen right through his  _ bullshit _ and taken it all for himself, leaving Steve alone. It’s a damning thing when reality set in. 

“Alright kid, you can put your shirt down. I’m going against my better judgement and I’ll probably regret all of this later. I should drag you to Owen’s people and have them take a look at you. Listen, the moment you think something is wrong, even if you feel woozy, you come to me; okay?”

“Okay Hop… I promise.” Steve lies through his teeth. “Can we go see Billy now?” The chief nods in response. 

* * *

 

They stand in a window and for now, that’s the closest the nurses will let him get without a doctor’s permission. There are wires and tubes coming and going. He can hear the terrible beep over everything else. It’s steady and consistent… Steve considers it reliable. 

Beep….

Beep….

Beep….

Beep….

Beep….

Beep…

Billy’s alive. His face wears violent deep shades of indigo, burgundy and eggplant purple. The beauty of it all is stomach churning. He isn’t moving. The machine is pushing the air in and out of his chest. 

He feels a hand on his shoulder. The doctor guides him into the room. Hopper doesn’t follow. 

“Is he gonna make it?”

“We don’t know.” The doctor’s words leave him breathless. “There was too much pressure on his brain and the only to relieve it was to induce him. You can talk to him. I believe he can hear you. He has such a supportive group. He’s a fighter, I can tell but this isn’t gonna be an easy road… he’s been through a lot. It was a lot of damage, he’ll need all the help he can get.”

Steve must make a face because doctor keeps talking. “All of those kids, and the other two teens. They’ve come in shifts and have been sitting with him for a while each day. His mother is a gem.”

“His mom is here?”

“She’s here. She getting a coffee she’ll be back soon.”  The doctor pats Steve’s shoulder and leaves him. He turns to see Hopper walk away with the doctor leaving Steve alone. 

He remains with Billy and that beeping. His hands shake with the anticipation to touch him but his brain holds him back. Almost every inch of Billy looks horrific. There are casts, cuts, bruises, distortions, slings and bandages everywhere. His hand… his limp hand is the only part of him safe enough to touch. 

That night in the Byer’s House was just a dose of what Billy’s dad can do. A broken boy lay in front of him and this is above his pay grade. Horror fills his body from head to toe. 

What if he was too late? He can’t remember the damage Billy’s dad did because of Barb… he and Barb let this happen. What’s the point of it all if the people he needs to protect get hurt anyway?

He takes a shaky breath and slowly slides his hand across the cloth bedding. Maybe the doctor’s right, maybe Billy will know he’s there if he can just reach out and show him. 

Their fingers touch. It’s a shy reunion of sorts because their hands never meet like this. Aggressively during basketball, passionately during arguments and accidentally when they don’t mean to tough at all. Neither of them ever reach out to touch nicely, refusing to hurt the other. They’re always gripping and  grabbing like little boys chasing pigtails. This is the first time Steve’s ever come in slow. 

Their skin collides in a fashion that sends shivers down Steve’s spine. He’s never held a boy’s hand  before and it feeling like this. Billy’s hand is stiff but warm… so, so warm. The coarse grooves and ridges of his fingers massages Steve’s thinner ones. Steve has clammy palms, unsure and always needing to weld something sturdy to steady him; Billy’s already sturdy. 

His eyes trail up and down the sleeping boy who he can’t even call his  friend. He swallows a vile taste swishing around in his mouth. 

“Billy?” Silence follows and makes itself at home. He doesn’t know why he waiting for an answer but he is. His grip becomes tighter. Steve tells himself that Billy knows he’s there. 

“Billy… I’m sorry you’re here. I’m sorry I didn’t move fast enough. I screwed up and let you walk out with your dad. You told me that he was the worst, I should have done more. I’m so weak Billy, I couldn’t protect… I can’t protect any of them.” Steve inhales a massive gulp of air before beginning  again. “I’m losing my mind. I don’t know where my parents are… Billy? I asked a dead girl to take over my body so I could save you. I’m sorry it didn’t work.” Steve whispers the tail end of his truths probably too low for a  comatose person to hear. 

Wetness pricks his eyes like needles and a rush of tears drape his cheeks. He drops his head on top of Billy’s hand and cries. All of the despair, pain, anger, hopelessness and loneliness roll off him in heaves. His grip on the limp hand tightens along with his chest. Hiccups boss his chest up and down at a tiring pace. His mouth mumbles out apologies and nonsense until his eyes droop in fatigue.  All of the quiet he’s so afraid of doesn’t come… he’s alone with the heart monitor beeping  and the breathing machine pushing air in and out of Billy’s lungs.

* * *

 

_ Steve notices how warm he is. The feeling of another body crowds him. It’s hot but the really good kind that begins in the lowest past of your belly and stretches out. It’s love.  _

_ Damp blonde hair sticks out belonging to a head safely put in the crook of Steve’s neck.  He’s not afraid because he will never feel this close to home.  _

_ Before he can think about it his lips finds open skin: a cheek, forehead, lips, a nose, the other cheek, a neck, more time with the lips…. _

_ “Steve, for the love of god, stop kissing me.” Billy groans every time Steve lands another kiss somewhere on his face.  _

_ They’re both naked and under the blankets. On the floor of a small tent they can’t get any closer. It’s beautiful--all the love that passes between them so easily. They trade soft touches and meaningful caresses. If there is a difference in how they connect then neither of them can probably tell.  _

_ “We have twelve more miles to hike, we need to get a move on.” Steve detaches himself from Billy.  _

_ Strong arms yank him back into the warmth. Arms and legs secure him to the body below. He gets a good look at Billy and doesn’t see the rage monster that only wants to destroy things. This man is open, beautiful, healing and alive.  _

_ “Hey, why are you crying?” Billy wipes away Steve’s tears. _

_ Steve thinks he’s talking but he can’t hear his own voice. He sees Billy nod his head before speaking himself but Steve can’t make out what the other man is saying either. A constant beep fills up the space around them. White eats away at the  edges of his vision closing in on the entire picture.  _

_ Billy’s face is the last thing he sees.  _

* * *

 

Steve opens his eyes and he’s back in the hospital room his hand still clutching tightly onto Billy’s. He sit upright and wipes the sleep from his eyes. He adjusts for comfort in order to keep watch when someone enters the room and gasps. 

He turns to find Susan at the door barely holding on to a cup of coffee.  Steve eyes  the woman in front of him; she’s perfect not a scratch on her. This makes his blood boil because the boy on the bed has that and then some all over him. 

“Are you another one of Billy’s friends? I didn’t realize he made such an impression on so many people. You can call me Susan. I’m Billy’s—

“I know who you are.” He doesn’t sound immediately cold nor does he intend to. 

She invites herself to he seat across from him. She makes herself comfortable and Steve makes up his mind about her… he’s clueless. Her eyes shine with a nervous energy comparable to any mother with a sick child… but isn’t she isn’t his mother. Her clothes look like she’s working on day two; if she’s heartless enough to watch her stepson get beat then why would she sit in his hospital room? 

He wants to hate her so bad, he really does. He wants to remember what he did to Neil so he can rehearse it on Susan but he can’t. This woman isn’t the monster she chose to marry but Steve needs answers before he lets her off the hook. 

“How could you let this happen?” Steve doesn’t mean for the words to fall from his mouth so carelessly but it happens all the same. 

Susan flinches. Steve will always hate to see a woman in distress whether it’s his mother, Nancy, Joyce, El, and Max. He feels helpless and just wants to get them out of the situation and far away from whatever’s hurting them. He can’t do that right now, not when they may be partially responsible for someone laying up in a hospital bed… a little pressure never hurt anybody. 

“How many times did you watch it? How often did finish making dinner while your husband beat the shit out of his son? I bet he limped to the table afterwards. Neil probably yelled at him the whole fucking way. You didn’t say a gotdamn word… did you! What about your daughter? What does she think about all of this? She’s not stupid and she knew what was going on. Were you scared the first time or did it shock you? I bet you thought you married a nice man.” More than exhaustion strips at his voice which is now a raspy plea. 

There are tears. He can’t see Billy or his ‘mother’ anymore, everything’s become a hazy washout. He doesn’t need to see to tell her off… and off they go. 

“You could have helped him! He needed someone to help him! Why weren’t you fast enough! He just laid there all those fucking times, he laid there and nobody came! Nobody ever comes! Probably left him in the dark, he hates the dark. It’s lonely. ” At this point Steve’s no longer just talking to Susan, he imagines his parents sitting with her; he even sees himself. 

The hysteria sets in and he’s babbling like a crazy person. Arms wrap around him like a blanket, it’s soothing. Hands rub his back, fingers lovingly stroke his hair and a soft voice coos and shushes him. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that it’s Susan. They stay like that for a minute, he soaks up a mother’s love for the second time in a week… it’s a record for him. 

He pulls away and looks at her. She’s a wreck. Her eyes are pits of sorrow and her face is full of strain. “I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry. You’re right.” 

Steve has no clue if she’s talking to him or Billy but a faint ache blooms in his chest. He doesn’t speak again nor does he have to. “I met Neil five years ago, his wife had just left him and he was a mess. He told me he had a son who was nothing but trouble and I believed him. Billy was either always running away or being brought back by the police. I never saw him hit him… I didn’t think he did. A year later me and Max moved in and things were… okay. Billy stayed out of our way and we made things work. Stayed out of our way? Fuck me… I didn’t know he was hurting him until we got married. Neil had caught Billy with another boy and beat him. I threatened to leave. He apologized and promised never to hit him again. He didn’t but Neil Hargrove isn’t the easiest man to live with. Billy wasn’t given an inch to work with but he was always respectful to me and from what I had seen, to Max as well. Neil caught him again with a man this time… a older man. He packed us all up and moved out here. I thought everything would be okay… I thought if I didn’t say anything or draw too much attention he’d forget about Billy. There were so many nights I’d go to bed hoping Billy ran away for good and when he didn’t come home last week… I thought my wish came true.” 

“You wanted him to runaway?”

“From Neil… I wanted him to sprout wings and fly away.”

“Then what?” Steve feels his stomach drop at what she’s impling. “What would have happened if he never came back? Would you have taken his beatings for him? What about Max? If you couldn’t stop him from beating on his own kid then how the fuck were you gonna stop him when he started in on you?”

Susan is a weird kind of silent at this point. She looks down at her hands then back up at Steve. They share eye contact for a long time as her intentions becomes apparently clear. 

“You were gonna let him kill you if it came down to it.” Steve feels more sick when Susan looks away but doesn’t deny his claims. 

“If I had been there last night I would have jumped in front of Billy… I promise I would’ve. Max would have been fine. Police were on the way. They beat me there. Billy would have taken Max and ran. I’ve met the chief, Max has told me about his daughter. He’s a good man, he would have taken care of them...” Susan’s rambling at this point. Steve can’t listen to  another word so he stands making sure to squeeze Billy’s hand once more.

He knows what it means to make a sacrifice but would he actively decide to die for someone. The weight is so heavy on his chest he can’t breathe. If it came down to it, he’d switch places under any blade just so the ones he loves will go on. It’s a damning realization to have when someone you could love may die in a hospital bed because you didn’t move fast enough. 

“I haven’t been much of a mother, have I?” Steve doesn’t answer her. 

“Do you think he’ll make it?” Her voice shakes so much at this point that he feels the vibrations in his own bones. 

“When he does… don’t let him down this time.” With that he exits the room and makes a beeline down the opposite hallway from the chief and doctor. 

He keeps going but the beeping follows him. Room after room the incessant beeping haunts him until he hears something new and haunting. A continuous piercing sound encapsulates the entire room. Doctors and nurses are rushing into a room and chaos ensues. People are moving all around a bed, there’s so much happening that when the machine finally turns off and everything’s silence, his heart breaks. He knows what that means… whoever that is, is dead. 

He swallows the lump in his throat in time for another to form. He backs away from the room until he crashes into someone. He turns to see that it’s Joyce Byers. She grabs him and pulls him into a tight hug. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Her voice is fierce and angry… he can’t handle this right now. It’s too much. 

“I’m sorry.” His own voice is a mess that he can’t clean up but he doesn’t think she minds one bit. “Please, take me home. I wanna go home.” 

“Okay… alright. Let’s go.” She gathers as much of him as she can into her arms and they both leave down the stairwell. 

* * *

 

The drive is silent for the most part. They pass by all the familiar sights Hawkins has to offer but none of it feels the same. There’s this blanket of mediocrity that plagues the small town. It’s like no matter what happens life continues on. People keep on living after all the crazy shit that happens in their fucked up little town. Will went missing only to turn up dead just to come back to life, the middle school shutting down last year, government people swarming the town… and life goes on all the same. 

“Hopper’s people picked you up this morning?” 

“Let me guess… that’s the talk of the town?” Joyce nods her head at him. 

“Well, it’s better than hearing the things that the people have been saying about the Hargrove family. Poor Max hasn’t been back to school ever since.”

“Is  everyone okay… the kids?” 

“You know those kids… they’re tough.”  _ Tougher than they should be…  _ “They miss you. They think something happened to you. When you get home and take a shower and get some proper sleep come to my house tonight. It’s only after one so you have plenty of time to rest up. We’re having a sleepover of sorts and the kids would love to see you.” 

They’re pulling into his neighborhood. He turns to her glancing over for a second but in that moment he knows that she means business. He knows that if he doesn’t show she’ll come looking. “I’ll try.” 

Her hands tighten around the wheel and her jaw clenches in frustration. “If I don’t oversleep that is… I’ll be there.” 

Joyce relaxes just as they pull into his driveway. The door is slightly ajar. Steve turns in his seat and they both kind of hold onto each other like it’s the last time. She runs her fingers through his hair and he sighs hugging her even tighter. 

“If you don’t show tonight, don’t stay away too long. At least come for breakfast.” 

He watches her pull away, waving all the while before turning to face his home, a prison he can’t escape. He pushes open the door to see the inside is darker than usual. He blows out a cold gust of air and his eyes bulges at the sight of the gray flakes floating around in the air. He can see near the basement door where they’re coming from; tiny vines sprouting from the frame don’t allow the door to close all the way. 

Waiting for him on the stairs is Barb. She’s brighter than he remembers. Her skin doesn’t hold as much of a gray tint. Her face doesn’t appear as happy. 

“Where is he? Where’s Neil Hargrove?”

Barb shakes her head before speaking. “Close the door Steve… we’ve got a lot to talk about.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I had been fantasizing about how I was gonna write the conversation between Steve and Susan. It's not exactly how I envisioned it but I feel like I hit the mark. Overall I'm really proud of the chapter. It's kind of downhill from here. 
> 
> Next four chapters are gonna be really intense... they just may not have 3k -4k word counts. These are a killer. 
> 
> At the end, I had to choose who he bumped into... Hopper, Nancy or Joyce. I hope I made the right choice. Next time you guys are gonna find out what really happened to Neil...
> 
>  
> 
> Yes.... I did throw a little Super 8 in there.


End file.
